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Martin Luther King Jr Assassination

Decent Essays

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s is shrouded in both monumental achievements and devastating losses. Through various methods and types of demonstrations, important figures such as Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, and Dr. King, although faced with adversity, malice, and violence, made leaps and bounds for their respective cause. Through the unification of their efforts, along with that of thousands of supporters and other important leaders, the stage was set for the advancement towards equality for not only African American citizens but anyone subjected to unjust treatment. Unfortunately, the progress that was made during these trying times came at a tremendous cost. At the hands of those who bitterly opposed the Civil Rights Movement, violence towards protestors and activists ran rampant. High-pressure fire hoses, police dogs, and hand-to-hand attacks were used in an attempt to suppress the desire to continue the fight for integration and overall equality. One such event – perhaps one of the most appalling of the time – was the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On …show more content…

King. Many believe that he was merely a scapegoat used to cover up a more elaborate conspiracy to silence the influential Dr. King. Not unlike the assassination of another important figure in the Civil Rights Movement, President John Kennedy, whose assassin was killed in cold blood just days after the death of the president, the truth behind Dr. King’s death may never be fully known. In fact, Dexter King, one of Dr. King’s sons, personally visited James Earl Ray in prison and expressed that he did not believe that Ray had anything to do with his father’s death. For James Earl Ray, however, before he could ever convince the world to believe his story, he met his death as a result of kidney failure and an ongoing bout with liver

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